DAHLONEGA – The No. 11 University of North Georgia (UNG) women's tennis team came from behind against No. 12 Columbus State (CSU) for a resounding 4-3 victory at the UNG Tennis Complex at Yahoola Creek on Monday.

The Cougars (11-5, 3-1 Peach Belt) took an early lead over the Nighthawks (14-6, 4-1) Monday afternoon after sweeping all three doubles matches to lead 1-0 in the overall team match.

Things went from bad to worse for UNG when CSU extended its lead to 2-0 behind a win in #3 singles from Laura Pesickova.

Resilient as ever, the Nighthawks would not quit. They would go on to rattle off four singles victories in a row to come back from the 2-0 deficit to an eventual 4-3 win.

Freshman Linn Goerdes catalyzed the comeback in her own gritty way in the #4 singles match. After losing the opening set 6-0, Goerdes gathered herself and dominated the last two sets 6-1, 6-4 to mark her 13th singles win on the season.The rookie has won six straight singles matches which is the second-longest active streak for UNG.

Senior Ashley Moinard, who was celebrated in UNG's Senior Day festivities with her teammates Angelina Linnikova and Carolina Reis, cemented a win in the final regular-season home match of her career as well.

Having split the first two sets 6-1, 4-6 with Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) women's singles No. 28 Mariana Ramirez, Moinard had a big task at hand if she wanted to win the third set. The Nice, France native made things look easy as she motored past Ramirez 6-0 to win the match and mark her first singles win over a ranked opponent this season.

With her 10th victory this year, Moinard is now one of four Nighthawks with double digit wins in singles play this season.

Following Moinard was fellow senior and ITA women's singles No. 3 Angelina Linnikova. 

Linnikova was in the throes of another hotly contested match against a ranked opponent as she eyed ITA women's singles No. 8 Nikoline Gullacksen on the other side of the net. 

The two rivals have met numerous times before and most recently faced off in the ITA Cup National Semifinal where Linnikova got the better of Gullacksen to advance to the women's singles National Championship.

Linnikova took an early 6-2 lead on Monday to win the first set. Gullacksen responded with a convincing 6-1 win of her own to force a third set. 

With the overall match tied at 2-2, Linnikova secured a huge victory for herself and her team as she dominated Gullacksen 6-2 in the final set to come away with the victory and put UNG ahead in the overall match 3-2. 

Linnikova continues to have one of the best seasons in program history. She is now 17-0 in singles matches this spring which includes seven victories against nationally ranked opponents. She is the only player within the ITA women's singles top 10 that is undefeated this spring and she holds a 5-0 record against opponents currently in the top 10. Linnikova is 23-2 in singles overall going back to the fall and 10-2 against ranked opposition. 

The victory from Linnikova suddenly put UNG in the driver's seat to clinch the victory.

In a closely contested #6 singles match, Nighthawk junior Emily Bush did just that. Against Marja Djokic, Bush won the first set 6-1 but fell 3-6 in the second set. She rebounded in dominant fashion for another 6-1 victory to clinch the win and bury the Cougars for good.

With a 4-1 record in Peach Belt conference matches this year, the Nighthawks dethroned CSU atop the conference standings after handing the Cougars their first league loss of the year Monday. UNG sits alone at 4-1 in the standings for the time being with 3-1 Flagler close behind. 

A Flagler loss in either of the Saints' final two matches against Augusta or Georgia Southwestern (GSW) and a Nighthawk win against those same Hurricanes in the regular season finale will clinch the third PBC Regular-season Championship in program history. 

First the Nighthawks will head to Montgomery, Ala. for a neutral site match against No. 22 Mississippi College on Thursday, April 17 at 11 a.m.